


Single Dad

by Hazein



Series: IDEAS [1]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Comics), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: 18 year old Tony stark, 18 year old dad, 1990s, Abandoned baby, Age Progression, Alternate Universe - 1990s, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, Baby Peter, But he's trying, Character Death, F/F, F/M, Family Feels, Fatherhood, Feels, Gen, Howard ain't perfect, Irondad, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, Kid Bucky Barnes, Kid Clint Barton, Kid Loki (Marvel) - Freeform, Kid Natasha Romanov, Kid Steve Rogers, Kid Thor (Marvel) - Freeform, Lung Cancer, M/M, More characters to come, Multi, Multi story, Other, Parent Tony Stark, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Roberta Rhodes - Freeform, Single Dad AU, Single mom Sarah, Slice of Life, Teenager Tony Stark, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Young Tony Stark, dad tony, mention cancer, mention leonardo dicaprio, mentioned fountains of wayne, possibly falling in love, secondary lung cancer, single dad, spideriron family, spiderson, starts at 1996
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-05-09
Packaged: 2019-04-22 09:05:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14305362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hazein/pseuds/Hazein
Summary: The struggles and hardships of being a single dad who happens to be an 18 year old Tony Stark.*May contain stories of other characters.*





	1. Daddy's here

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! Thank you for checking out my fic!  
> This was just an Idea which kinda blossomed....
> 
> I answer ASK on my Tumblr page and HERE!  
> I may reply with a story so start asking good questions! <3
> 
> PLEASE be on the look out on the tags it updates almost every chapter so if the tags aren't quite in your favor... I understand if you guys leave and also PLEASE NO HATE COMMENTS! Respect other readers reading my fic THANK YOU!

Tony had a fight with his father earlier that day and decided to take a day off from Howard and expectations in life. So he fled into the apartment he calls a “safe haven”. It was one of his lesser known apartments in a non luxurious building. No one knew this place except for Jarvis, Rhodey and a few one night stands. He had his usual rough night partying and drinking till I pass out routine which surprisingly didn’t end up with him bringing home another girl/boy home to have fun with. Well, ending up passed out in his couch was surprising enough. He had just turned 18 where he wasn’t legally allowed to drink at some bar but he had tons of celebrity friends to get into a party much cooler than any bar a regular 21 year old can go to.

So there he was passed out peacefully on his couch when there was a loud knock on his door. He groaned as he covers his ears, trying to ignore it. It was probably Rhodey, who unfortunately forgot his keys again. Although he would be happy to see him but waking him up from a drinking spree is another story. The knock grew louder by the minute.

“MY GOD! HOW MANY TIMES WILL YOU LOSE YOUR GOD DAMN KEYS!?”

Tony abruptly stood up and stomped towards the door. He opens his doors and expecting to see sheepish looking smile on Rhodeys face in front of him. Except it wasn’t Rhodey, there was no one around.

“What the fuck?”

There was a small sob that could be heard below him. He looked down to see a baby with brown hair and hazel eyes staring back at him wrapped with cloth and a folded piece of paper on top of it. Written on it were the words: _To: Tony_. Tony’s eyes grew wide as he stares at the baby in front of him.

_I’m not dreaming am I? wait… am I high???_

Tony jerked back to reality when the baby started bawling out. Unsure of himself, he carefully took the paper and placed the baby in his arms. _Fuck. Am I doing this right?_ He then closed the door and went to his bedroom which was thankfully clean. He gently rocked the baby in his arms and whispered “please stop crying… please stop crying” like a mantra until the small child in his arms slowly stopped crying and started blinking towards sleep. When the baby was finally calm and sleeping, he slowly and gently placed the child in the middle of the bed before tiptoeing to the chair at the corner of the room.

He sat on the chair and stared at the piece of paper in his hands, deciding whether to open it or not but he looked back at the wrapped child on his bed. He could have ignored and closed the door when he opened the door or could have read the letter while the baby was crying on the ground. He could have decided something else. He knew the possibility of the contents of the letter. It was too obvious. But he decided to bring the crying baby in his arms and his apartment. And now he is holding the letter between his hands.

He let out a sigh and decided on reading the damn letter:

_Hi,_

_You may not remember me and I don’t want you too. We hooked up February last year at that party where fountains of wayne were playing and well…. I got pregnant, if you want to check whether if he really is your son or not, you can. I’m sure he is yours cuz I haven’t hooked up with anyone but you at that time. I can’t take care of him anymore and if you won’t take care of him, he will be sent to an orphanage. If you ever decide not to, leave him at the same place you got him same time tomorrow. I’ll take him and give him to an orphanage. I hope you don’t._

_P.S. I know you have a kind heart Anthony Stark... I have faith in you._

He only remembered a few things at that party. Rhodey took him somewhere to forget about his ex. There was a lot of drinking and dancing and at some point during that time Rhodey lost him. He remembered bringing home a blonde girl who he couldn’t recognize to this very apartment that day. And he woke up with an empty bed side.

He slumped back on his chair and combs his hair back with his hand. _Fuck._ He was a father now. A child from a woman whose name he doesn’t even remember. _What the fuck am I going to do?! Howard’s not gonna be fucking pleased with this? I’m no dad material. I’m 18 god dammit! Shit tony calm down! Calm down! Think!_ Tony rubbed his face and groaned in his hands. _I’m not sober enough for this..._ He looked up at the ceiling for a moment. _I could… I could just leave him tomorrow._

“I could” he whispered.

He gently closed his eyes because he was tired of thinking while he wasn’t sober enough. He was tired because he knew what Howard would say if he came home with him. He was tired because he was 18 and he shouldn’t be dealing with this so early. He was so fucking tired.

A loud cry made him jump on his seat. He looked at the baby crying and reaching out to nothing. He walked towards him unsure what to do he sat beside him and caress the child’s head. _So small._ He then whispered “It’s ok…. It’s alright… everything’s fine”. The baby blinked at the voice and looked up. Tony then wiped the tears and lulled “shhh… don’t cry…”. The baby grabbed Tony’s finger and brought it close to him as it let out soft yawn. He stared at the baby holding his finger with his tiny hand which softened as he whispered to the little angel like a promise. “It’s ok… Daddy’s here”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhodey got a call from Tony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your wishes have been heard!

Rhodey groaned as he shuffles to the side of the bed and roamed his hand toward his night stand searching for the phone which had been persistently ringing for the past 2 minutes. Finally, he felt the plastic on his palm and slowly pulled while minding the coil that’s attached to it then pressed the speaker on his right ear and gave out a rough “Hello?”

“Hiiiiiii! Honeybear, you up?”

“Well, I’m up now… Why are you calling me at” He squints at the clock resting on the night stand beside him. “6 in morning?!” He suddenly jumps up and sits because he knows Tony doesn’t call at this hour and especially not even remotely awake either. _Something’s wrong._

“Tones, you ok?” He lets out a sigh. “Is it your Dad again?”

“No no…. I mean yes but no” there was a short pause. “It’s uhh… it’s something else”

Rhodey rubs his face to his back before saying. “Well…. What is it? You don’t sound like a kicked pup-“

“I DON’T SOUND LIKE THAT!” He pulled the handset away from his ear avoiding a possible deafening from Tony’s high pitched voice.

“you kinda do…So…” Rhodey leans back and slams to his comfy bed. “Why are you calling me at this hour, Tones?”

“Ummm… I actually kind of… It’s kinda hard to explain… I mean a LOT of things are hard to explain…” _his rambling again_. “but umm… this I… I have… Jesus Christ I don’t… I don’t know how to tell you thi-“

“You know, tones if you don’t just spit it out already I might think that you’ve gotten someone pregnant” He chuckled.

There was a long pause.

Rhodey sat up straight. “Tones?”

“I-I got someone pregnant”

“What?”

“And the baby’s here with me”

“WHAT?!”

“I’m at my apartment in Queens”

“I’ll be there in 2 hours”

“Ok..” He puts down the phone and stood up. He changed as fast as he can and grabs his keys and wallet. He walks to his mother’s room and caresses Roberta’s head before planting a soft kiss on her forehead.

“Rhodey?” She squints looking up at her son.

“I need to go to Queens right now. Tony emergency” He whispered before giving her another kiss on her cheek.

“Ok, hon. be safe” she gave him a small smile before shifting herself to a more comfortable position.

Rhodey tiptoed out of the room. He closed the door not before hearing a soft mumble “Don’t forget to lock the door”

“I won’t”

************

Tony’s been staring at the little guy ever since he called rhodey. He gently fixes the angel’s hair with his fingers before pressing a small kiss on his little nose.

_God I still can’t believe I have kid. And I’m not freaking out as much as I thought I would be._

The bedroom door slammed open, showing a sweaty Rhodey panting for dear life.

“Y-YOU’RE A DAD NOW?!”

The little guy wailed from the sudden outburst. Which made Tony glared at the shamefaced Rhodey in front of him before picking the little guy up and cradle him in his arms.

Rhodey stared in shock looking at Tony as he comfortably rocked the baby in his arms. Never did he think that he would see Tony like this especially at 18.

“Umm… how are you doing that?” He blinked before slowly walking towards Tony.

“hmmm?” Tony didn’t look up just smiling at the sniffling baby in his arms. Rhodey sat down beside him trying not to move so much to startle the baby anymore than he had.

“You- You look so natural with… Aren’t you freaking out a bit?”

Tony looked up to face Rhodey. He opened his mouth for short while before closing it. He took a deep breath. “I don’t know…. Rhodey I was shocked at first to see this little guy in front of the door this morning but looking at him so peaceful… so innocent that it was unfair for a minute to think that a guy like me-“ “Tones” “A guy like me could have someone as beautiful as him.. I-I don’t know the girl I slept with to have him… but… she didn’t want him Rhodey” Tony hands over the paper he kept in his pocket. “I look at him and I think about how I have a mother and a father. But Howard wasn’t…” He sighed. “If I don’t take care of him… I won’t be sure if he’ll ever have a father or a mother to take care him.” Tears started falling down his cheeks as he trembled.

Rhodey took Tony’s free hand and squeezed. Tony bit his trembling lips.

“Rhodey. I don’t want this kid to have a shitty life just because I was drunk and stupid…. I don’t know if I’ll be a great at being a Dad but I’ll try the best as I can to be a good one”

Rhodey wiped Tony’s tears “Tones, I know you’ll be a great father. Deciding on taking up the role of a father and taking care of him tells me that you already are a good father” He smiled “And Tony, I want you to know. That I’ll always ALWAYS be right by your side whenever you need me… I’ll support you as much as I can before I’ll be deployed and I promise I’ll come back for you”

“But what if I’ll mess up?! What If I become my father?! I can’t do this without you!” The little guy moved a bit so Tony started rocking him again and whispering to him.

“You won’t mess up and if you do I know you’ll be able to fix it. You were always a fixer”

“I don’t know” Tony looks at the little guy and listening to the small breaths he takes.

Rhodey sighed. “Tones, look at me”

He looked up and stared at Rhodey with growing uneasiness that can be seen in his eyes, thinking about the possibilities of messing up.

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course!”

“So trust me when I tell you that you’ll be able to do this with or without me and that you’ll be a great father better than any father I’ve ever met and better than yours ever was.” Rhodey squeezed his hand and stared at Tony hopeful that he would cling to his words.

“I-I…” Tony took a deep breath. “I trust you”

Tony leaned in and rests his head on Rhodey’s shoulder.

“Thank you”

Rhodey ran his fingers through Tony’s hair calming his best friend.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is facing a smelly situation.
> 
>  
> 
> It seems I can't stop myself from updating! xD  
> Thank you for the kudos and the comments guys! I really appreciate it!

They were eating what Rhodey brought for them while he was on the way to Tony’s apartment. Tony made a mini banshee screech before lounging to hug his best friend when he saw that Rhodey had brought him coffee. Rhodey really knows what Tony needs every time.

Suddenly a loud wail pierced both Tony and Rhodey’s ears making Rhodey choke a bit with his McMuffin. Rhodey smacked his chest while coughing out the squishy bit he choked on while Tony jumped out of his seat.

Tony scrambled towards the room to see his baby bawling out. He took him in his arms just to realize why his baby was having a fit. _A smelly revelation._

“Uh….. Honeybear, I think we need to change the little guy” Tony scrunched his nose hoping the smell wouldn’t shove up to his nose.

“What do you mean ‘We’?” Rhodey was leaning by the door not daring to go anywhere near the crying baby. “I’m not his Dad. I ain’t going anywhere near the little guy and his bomb filled diaper” scrunching his face in disgust.

“But, Rhodeybear!” Tony made a pouty face at his best friend. “I thought you loved me” He blinked his puppy dog eyes at him.

“Ughhh…. You’re doing that thing AGAIN!” Rhodey groaned and covered his face. “I won’t fall for that AGAIN!” Rhodey peeked at his friend which he shouldn’t have done. Now he is staring at those guilt tripping eyes he always makes when he wants Rhodey to do something he doesn’t want to do. “FINE! I’ll buy the diapers!”

Tony beamed like a Cheshire Cat.

“BUT I won’t be the one changing him”

Tony pouted again.

“That’s the Dad’s Job”

He sighed. “Fair” Rhodey turned around and went out of the apartment.

“Don’t forget about Baby Food! And… Maybe some baby clothes!”

“Yeah… Yeah…” Rhodey then closed the door after him.

A sob caught Tony’s attention. The little guy wasn’t bawling out like he used to but he was still sobbing.

“Sorry little guy” He brought the little guy close to him enduring the smell. “How bout we take a little bath while we wait for your uncle? Does that sound good to you?” His baby boy was looking up staring at him with his watery eyes and his pouting lips. Little hands grabbing Tony’s shirt pushing and pulling while his lips quiver like his about to burst into another fit. “I should have showed your face to Rhodey, Your puppy dog eyes are a lot better than mine”

The little guy started making little hiccups while his face scrunched up and slowly turning into a big red tomato face baby.

“Okay! Okay! Let me just…” Tony laid him on the bed. “Ummm” He started taking the adhesive tapes off and pulls back the front revealing a mess and a not-so-nice odor. Tony made gagging noises and covered his mouth. “Well, it really takes a man to change a diaper” He went to his nightstand and got the box of tissues he keeps at the bottom in case of certain _ahem_ messy situations. He made more gagging noises when he was back facing a chocolate mess. _I’ll probably avoid eating chocolate for a bit._

“Ok… Ok… This is your first Daddy mission Tony…” There was a short pause. “Maybe I should change that name but this is your time to be a DAD” Tony took a deep breath which was a bad idea. He started gagging again.

_Oh my gawd... It smells so bad…_

The little guy started making louder hiccups.

“Shh… Okay! Okay… Here I go”

**********

The little guy was splashing water around having a giggling fit while Tony holds him

“It wasn’t that bad” _maybe a little bit._

“Bah! Bah!” He hasn’t stopped splashing ever since he got in and now Tony’s whole upper body was soaked. He was quite a lively little guy. It made him think if he was this lively when he was a baby.

“Gah! Bah! Bah!” He was making grabby hands at Tony. Tony gave him a smile before leaning and giving him a small peck on his nose. The little guy had both his hands on both Tony’s cheeks which were smooth like a baby’s bottom. Tony was trying to grow a bit of facial and the key word there was ‘trying’.

“Bawaaah! Bap! Bap!” He started slapping Tony’s cheeks which weren’t really doing anything to Tony. He was making giggling sounds at Tony’s silly faces every time he hits his cheeks with his small hands.

“Seems like you had fun changing the little guy”

Tony turned around to see Rhodey holding one of Tony’s clean and soft towels he loves.

“Seems like I did” Tony beamed at Rhodey before slowly standing up and lifting the child up out of the tub. Rhodey chuckled and opened the towel and wrapping the little guy up. He kinda looked like a baby burrito. Rhodey gave him back to Tony’s arms.

“You know, we’d make a great married couple” Tony winked at Rhodey who just rolled his eyes at him.

“Tones, I’m stuck with you regardless if we were a couple or not. Plus you’re already my brother” Rhodey gave a small kiss on Tony’s forehead.

“Yeah” Tony gave him a satisfied smile. “Plus you’re not my type”

Rhodey made a mock hurt face. “Excuse me! May I inform you there’s a ton of guys lining up just to get to this ass!” He then flipped his imaginary hair which made Tony snicker.

They went to his bedroom. Tony let down and unwrapped the little guy on the bed. Rhodey gave Tony the diaper which he placed on the child making sure it wasn’t too tight or loose.

“So what are you going to name him?”

“huh?” Tony finished sticking the adhesive on the front of the diapers.

“His name Tony”

“Oh… I haven’t thought about that yet… I really never thought about it before” Tony scratched his neck.

Rhodey gave the baby clothes to him. “Anthony jr.?”

Tony gave him a look. “No”

“James?” Rhodey smirked.

“If you start kneeling and professing your undying love to me then maybe I might consider it” Tony dressed the kid with a baby onesie that has a cookie monster print on it.

Rhodey rolled his eyes. “Michael then? Carl? Darwin? Leonardo DiCaprio?”

“Leonardo DiCaprio?” Tony looked up at Rhodey with disbelief.

“What? I’m betting you that a few years from now that THAT guy will be so famous that your son will be thanking me for it” He crossed his arms so sure of himself. “He’s a great actor”

“He is pretty hot” Tony thought about it for a while. “but…. no”

“Fine…. Do you have anything in mind?” He sat at the side of the bed making sure that the baby doesn’t tilt and roll off. Tony picked up the little guy and sat down. Staring at the baby’s eyes that stared back at him, he was silent for a moment trying to find something out of those caramel colored eyes. The little guy giggled at him. Tony smiled and gave the baby’s bubbly cheeks a kiss.

“Peter” Tony planted another kiss on his forehead “I’ll name him Peter”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a [Tumblr ask](http://hazein.tumblr.com/post/172995383840/i-really-love-your-single-dad-au-and-i-cant-wait) and a reply to [Tia_Lei](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tia_Lei/pseuds/Tia_Lei)
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Tony decided to confront his dad that day and introduce his son, Peter. He had been talking with Rhodey for a week before he decided to come home. He wouldn’t let go of Rhodey ever since they rang the doorbell in front of the Stark Mansion. Tony was shaking. He didn’t know how they would react to this. How Howard would react to this. But he knew he can’t keep this a secret from them especially from his dear Mother.

When Jarvis opened the door seeing them, his expression jumped from relief to shock. He stood there gaping at Tony for almost a whole minute before fixing himself.

“Master James, Master Tony” He bowed before them. “Master Tony, I am delighted to see you back home” He gave Tony a soft smile.

“I’m glad to see you too Jarv” Tony beamed at him.

“If you don’t mind me sir for asking but why do you have a child with you” Jarvis gave them both a confused look.

“I-It’s a long story Jarv. I’ll have to tell you another time. I have to speak to Howard and my mother first”

“I understand sir. Your father and mother are in the study room. They had been worried sick”

“I bet he wasn’t” Tony mumbled to himself. Rhodey heard it though and he squeezed Tony’s hand making the smaller man look up at him. Rhodey gave him a reassuring smile which Tony tried to mimic but failed.

They walked in to see his father brooding in front of the unlit fireplace and his mother was behind him placing a hand on her husband’s shoulder. Tony took in a deep breath and let goes of Rhodey’s hand to hold peter a lot closer to him.

“Mamá” Maria and Howard jerked around to look at where the voice was coming from.

“Tony”

“Tesoro!” She was about to leap and squeeze her son in his arms when she notices what he was carrying. “umm… Antonio, why are you bringing a baby with you?“

Howard’s immediately stared bewildered at what Maria was talking about.

“H-He’s my son” Both Maria and Howard’s eyes widened. Maria looked at her husband eyes panicked. Howard wasn’t pleased.

“Rhodey, can you bring the baby with you to the living room? I would like to have a word with my son privately"

Rhodey nodded at Howard before taking Peter from Tony’s hands and giving him a comforting squeeze as he grasp his shoulders. When Rhodey closed the door behind him, neither party spoke for a while. Tony had a hard time looking at his father straight in the eye and started fiddling with his fingers from the growing uneasiness.

“I-I just wanted to tell y-”

“You stormed off when we talked about your future” Howard cut him off. His eyebrows scrunched together making his wrinkles look more visible than ever. “I talked about it so you can have a great future and you stormed off”

“Like I w-was sayi-“

“IT TOOK YOU A WEEK BEFORE COMING BACK TO US AND YOU BRING A GOD DAMN CHILD WITH YOU!” Tony’s eyes widened in shock and fear at Howard’s sudden burst.

“Howard!” Maria pleaded to her husband to calm down but Howard wouldn’t budge.

“Your mother was worried sick! I WAS WORRIED SICK! And I’ve gotten news that you were partying that night you left! And then you come back here and bring a child WITH YOU!?”

“H-Howard”

Howard’s eyes glared at Tony as he hears his name.

“L-Let me explain” Tony pleaded with his father which only made Howard veins pop out.

“Explain? Explain me what exactly Anthony?! Explain that you’ve knocked someone up? Explain that your recklessness ruined your life and the company?! Do you even know how this would affect the company?! I’ve been reminding you a hundred times that you are a STARK and being my child means YOU are going to be the head of-“

“AND I’VE TOLD YOU A HUNDRED TIMES THAT I NEVER WANTED TO BE IN THE COMPANY!” Howard and Maria blinked in surprise. Tony can’t take it anymore. He’s tired of Howard screaming at him. Tired of the years he had to endure to make him happy and in turn making himself a miserable fuck. “I’ve told you how much I’ve wanted to stand on my own feet! That I didn’t want to continue this fucking STARK legacy! Dad, I’ve been telling you for years! YEARS! And you wouldn’t even fucking listen to a word I had to say” Tony takes in a deep breath. “But I want you to listen to me… I NEED you to listen to me now… I’ve done what you’ve asked of me my entire life. I’ve skipped what should have been my childhood! I went to boarding school even if I didn’t want to! I went to your stupid parties with those plastic people smiling at me telling me how they expect so much from me! I’ve graduated college just like any parent would want from their child! I even got a master’s degree which is not something just anyone in my age could I achieve! I’m done doing things and being someone that everyone and especially you expect me to be. And it’s now my turn to chose who I want to be Dad…. And I want to be the father of my child… He doesn’t deserve to suffer from the mistakes that I made… And I know” Tony choked from his own tear that have swelled from all the emotions pouring out of his mouth. He clenched his fists. “I know that I am capable enough to give him the love and care that he deserves… With or with your help. And the reason I came here was because I wanted you to know all this before I leave”

Tony walked over and kissed Maria’s cheek who was pleading him not to leave before walking out of the room.

**********

“Antonio”

Tony stopped arranging his luggage and slowly turned to face his mother but he wouldn’t look at her in the eye.

“I’m sorry that I yelled at you” Tony still didn’t look up from the ground. Maria started to walk closer to him. It took all of his strength not to walk out from the room. Maria didn’t deserve being yelled at. She showed how much she cherished Tony and he remembers how many times he cried in her arms. The woman who consoled him from every bruise and scars he made and every time he felt like he wasn’t anywhere good enough for Howard.

“Tesoro… look at me” Her voice was full of pain. She hated how broken her son felt.

Tony slowly looked up. Tony was only a little bit taller than her so it didn’t take him too long to stare at those eyes. Those eyes that were an exact same replica to his and to Peters, she still looked beautiful despite the how tired she looked and the wrinkles that has started to form showing how the years have started to catch up on her.

“I understand why you had to, Tesoro. Your father was always short-tempered but he does what he thinks is best for you… I hope you know that”

“I know” He took in a shaky breath. “Are you here to persuade me to stay?”

“I’d love to but sadly I know how set on you are when you’ve decided on what you want” She chuckled.

“Yeah…” Tony gave her a half-hearted smile. “It’s one of the traits that I got from him”

“I’m here to give you this” Maria showed what she had been holding all this time to him. It was a bunch of old papers.

“What is it?”

“It’s a deed” Tony looks widens his eyes at her. “It’s one of the houses me and your father had planned to settle when you were born. We had thought about living a normal life once but somehow we pushed that idea aside. It’s a peaceful town far from her. The house is still in good condition. The town is small but has everything that any child would need till he gets into college. We had a caretaker but she sadly passed away. Her daughter is now the one taking care of it. No one knows who Starks are there…. Not even the caretaker”

“I-I can’t” Tony stammered as he tries to give back the deed to her.

“I know I haven’t been the best father” Tony was startled to hear a voice from the door. Howard slowly walked in and stopped a few meters away from them. He looked ashamed as he decides whether to look at his shoes or his son’s eyes. “But I hope it’s not too late for me to say sorry about making you lose your childhood. I now know it was very selfish of me to expect you to become someone you didn’t want to be. And I hope I’m not too late to try and become a good grandfather to my grandson.” Howard took a few steps closer. “I know you want to prove yourself to me that you could do this without us but please at least let us help you to star off. We’ve never used this because we thought… I-I thought this life was better for you. And I was wrong about that” He was shaking as he took the remaining steps to get beside Maria “I want you to know that I love you Anthony. I’ve loved you ever since you came to this world and I will love you till my last breath even if I am really bad at showing it to you.”

“We love you, Tesoro”

Tony hugged them both as he sobbed

“I love you both so much”

**********

Bonus:

“So this is my grandson!” Howard lifted peter up high above him which made the little guy giggle. Howard smiled.

“He looks just like you Anthony!” He chirped.

The giggling stopped for a second and Peter puked right on Howard’s face.

“Yup… he really is your son”

Another fit of giggles filled the room.


	5. Peter's mom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This event happened days before Peter confronted his dad and after the diaper incident... hopefully you guys won't get confused by it.
> 
> This gives way to [Spawn_Hades'](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spawn_Hades/pseuds/Spawn_Hades) comment. Again thank you so much for the suggestion!
> 
> hope you guys won't murder me for this or anything x'(

It was his idea to talk himself and Rhodey into the idea of deciding to confront the mother of his child. And yes, he had to talk himself into it, serious personal conversations isn’t one of his best skill especially with a person who was basically a stranger. To Rhodey it was more of Tony’s conversational argument with himself while Rhodey listens, or half listening while nodding every now and then.

“Are you even listening to me!?” Tony snapped at him.

Rhodey just shrugs at him. “Tones, I would comment on your dilemma if you weren’t already arguing   with yourself. And if you really wanted my opinion and actually take it then I think its best that you talk to her. You could ask her about Peter, about his health situations or genes that you have to worry about and other stuff… plus it would be easier for you to transfer peter to fully be in your custody if you asked help from her” Tony opens his mouth as he tries to interject but was cut off before he even made a sound. “AND if ever she changes her mind it is her decision. She has her rights…She is the mother of your child. I know how it sounds Tones but it is the truth. I don’t want to give Peter to her as much as you do. So if we really wanted Peter to stay you can always open a court case against her”.

“So it’s a ‘we’ now” Rhodey rolled his eyes over the teasing Billionaire.

Tony had to think for a minute because it is a serious moment, a very serious moment concerning his child. He made a thin line with his lips as he scrunches his eyebrows together while fiddling with his long sleeves. Rhodey stared at him for a long time. He was quite anxious himself of the possibility of Peter’s mother wanting to claim him back was a 50/50 chance and it is pretty big chance. Tony took in a deep breath and let out a sigh.

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

Rhodey promised to be up with him throughout the night but he couldn’t even last three hours before snoring in Tony’s couch. Tony snorted at his best friend before wrapping him in a blanket and giving him chaste kiss on his cheek.

It took even lesser than two hours before Tony started to get impatient and walked around the apartment. He couldn’t stop walking around and over thinking till it was quarter to 5 and it only made his over thinking even worse. He was now biting his nails and tugging his hair from his skull in frustration.

He checked the time again and saw that it was 5:53. He went straight to the door and peeped through the peeping hole and saw nothing so he waited. It took around 20 minutes before he a sees the beautiful golden hair and stunning emerald eyes that he thought he’d never see again. He immediately opened the door startling the woman who was bending down to leave a letter that she was holding in her hand.

Tony didn’t know what to say all he could let out was the name of his old flame. “Joanna…”

She stood up and gave a sad smile.

“Hi Tony” Her voice sounded hoarse and faint.

“W-Why?” Tony clenched his fist in frustration. “You w-were the girl that I-I slept with during that D-DAY YOU BROKE UP WITH ME!? Why do this to me!? Why break up with me and sleep with me the same night and then come back and leave me OUR CHILD without even showing your FACE!? I had loved you so much! I never loved anyone as I did with you and you just toyed with me in a sick weird way! And what’s upsetting about this is that I never stopped loving you even until now… no matter how much Rhodey told me to forget about you… how many girls I’ve slept with just to forget about you… so why…. I just don’t… I can’t understand why you did this to me…. How I deserve this from you… What I’ve done during our relationship to play me like some game…”

He wasn’t looking at her anymore. He was afraid to see another woman had just toyed with him like Sunset did; another woman had just turned him into a great fool. Maybe he was a great fool for falling for women who likes to break his heart like it was made of glass.

His eyes flew open as he felt cold fingers grazing his cheek bones. His eyes met glossy emerald. He felt like he could melt in them at any moment with those eyes. The hair he curled with his fingers every time he woke up in her arms. Tony blinked. The palms of her hands were like ice and her lips where pale and quivering. Tears were flowing leaving those eyes that he loved. He couldn’t help bet wipe them from her cheeks like it was the natural thing to do.

“Oh, my sweet… *gasp* I-I never wanted to *gasp* wanted to leave you…. *gasp*” She hid her emeralds as he let out deep haggard breaths. “Can I c-come in? *gasp* I-I need to S-sit…”

He led her in his apartment and closed the door. He helped her sit down in the dining room. She gave short fast breaths but it slowed down and steadied. He noticed how frail her body was and how pale she looked and how she was shaking with her clenched fist. He wanted to sit down beside her and caress her arm as he whispers how everything is ok and how it’s fine but it’s not. So he stood there waiting for her to calm down. She looked up at him and he sees the dark circle under her eyes. She looked tired.

“Tony, I never wanted to leave you. I never… never stopped loving you. I-I didn’t intend to toy with you. That day I left you… I decided to leave you for good…because I… but I just… I wanted to remember how you felt… That’s why I tailed you and I saw you… you were drunk and flirting with…” Her eyes grew darker as she gritted her teeth. “Almost every man/woman who passes by… so I went to talk to you and with you so drunk… you couldn’t even realize it was me… so I took the chance to feel you for the last time… to treasure you for the last time… And I didn’t expect… didn’t expect that I’d get pregnant… I was confused when I knew about it… I was happy yet I was…. Tony I…” She gave out a heavy sigh and looked away. “I… I’ve been d-diagnosed with Secondary Lung Cancer… That’s the reason I broke up with you because I didn’t want to let you see me like this… And that’s the reason I was devastated when I had him… I thought… I thought I wouldn’t live to have him… I thought I wouldn’t live to get to that 9 months… The doctors told me the chances of me living to have him were slim…. But I somehow made it… although it doesn’t mean I’d live to see him grow up… I didn’t want him to live without a parent so I came here”

Tony sat down. It was too much to process and he needed to sit down. He looked at her. She was still staring at her hands, too ashamed to look up at him.

“So you came here and thought that my 18 year old ass… who parties like its god damn 1969 would take a child from a one night stand not knowing who the woman was… And treasure him and take care of him and try to be a better father than my dad ever was…”

She looked up. “And I was right”

He took her hand that was resting on the table and held onto her.

“And you were right”

************

Joanna died six days after. Tony spent those six days beside her and brought Peter every day with him. And Rhodey was there to support them. She never wanted to go to the hospital so his father had nurses and doctors visit her in her room. Tony spent those days calling her darling like he used to and making her smile like he used to. And now Peter was making her smile too. She smiled like she had never lived before whispering to them how happy she is with her boys but even with her eyes shining like a beautiful meadow or like the tales of the great emerald city turned real with her glimmering like that. Yet she refused to eat or drink. She had already refused days before and the toll of it was catching up with her. She swatted every any nurse or doctor that came to her to give her an IV bag or feeding tube. She would go wild and Tony had to step away from the room to cradle peter in his arms to stop him from crying. And she had begged the doctor, her father, her mother, and even Tony. She was already very tired and very weak. She wanted to rest. They stopped trying to administer any meds she’d go against and she started to slow down.

Tony brushed her hair from her face and kissed her lips.

“I promise to try and be great father”

“You already are” She smiled at him lazily.

“I love you so much, darling” He gave her another deep kiss then kissed her all over her face as tears flowed down.

“I love you too, sweetheart” He rested his forehead against hers as she caressed his cheeks.

When she had Peter in her arms, she held him close and stared at her beautiful baby. She pressed a long kiss on his forehead then whispered.

“Don’t torment your father so much and watch over him for me. I’ll be watching over you little one. I’ll always be by your side. I love you so much, pumpkin” She gently held his little hand and kissed it. She wanted to see her son grow up like any mother would be but she knew if she stayed any longer she would look much more worse than now. And Peter would have to see all that and she has to see Peter’s painful gaze as her lights flicker. She doesn’t want that. Nobody does.

It was the longest and yet also the shortest six days of Tony’s life.

Joanna died in her sleep. Tony woke her up the next day but her eyes remained closed and her body was cold as ice. Tony broke down. He had asked Rhodey to take care of Peter while he was gone. When he came back the next day, he decided to confront his father about Peter. And so Rhodey and Tony drove to the Stark mansion and promised to Joanna’s parents that they would come back for her burial.

Tony closes his eyes as they drove off. He tries to remember every beautiful memory he has of her only to remember the bittersweet memories he had made on those 6 days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys don't know her. Joanna Nivena was Tony's first fiance in 616. Google it. It's how I found out about her xD


	6. New Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Peter's New home

They had been on the road for about 6 hours. It was only Tony, Rhodey, and Peter on the road. Stark’s were always known to be busy men so Tony understands that his parents had to stay but they did promise to visit. Ana and Jarvis promised the same. He hadn’t informed any of his uncles about the move nor has he called Aunt Peggy. He should really call her soon

“What was the name of the Town again?” Tony looks at Rhodey who started to look drowsy.

“huh? Umm… Marvel I think… It’s a weird name for town” Rhodey squinted at the road. He was rubbing at his eyes trying to push away the sleep and try to focus at the blurry road in front of him.

“Well, It’s better than Chicken, Alaska” Tony snickered and leaned his head on the window. He still couldn’t believe that a town named ‘Chicken’ actually exists in this world. He peered at Rhodey. His eyes where droopy and sporting a dark circle under his eyes. “Honeybear, do you want me to switch? You look exhausted”

“I… yeah I am… Sounds good” Rhodey slowed down and stopped by the side of the road. The place looked completely deserted, neither a house nor a car insight but the sky was displaying a beautiful starry night. Tony checked on Peter who was in his baby carrier sleeping peacefully. He gave him a small kiss before hoping in the Driver’s seat. Rhodey inclined his seat a bit before securing his seat belt. Tony secured his and started humming ‘On The Road Again’ as he drove back to the road.

It took him around 3 hours before he saw the welcome sign of the Town. It looked like a nice town. There weren’t many cars around and there were more kids in bikes. Most of them were biking towards a cute local Diner named ‘Happy Diner’. He notices a blonde kid smiling brightly like the sun and running while pulling a raven haired boy with a sour face towards the Diner. He wonders if Peter will be the former or the Latter. Hopefully, it was the former. He slowed down when he came to the small neighborhood called Shield, which was a cool name yet also weird for a cute neighborhood like this one. He stopped to check the words written on the piece of paper his mother had written for him in perfect cursive. Avengers Street. _Again what’s with the weirdly cool names…_ He looks at the street signs trying to figure out which street are they in.

“Excuse me” He looked around and sea blue eyes with brown soft curls. “Are you Tony Stark?”

Tony widened his eyes at her. Nobody was supposed to know who he was here. “Umm… I.. How d-did you-“

“Oh my, I’m sorry” She gives him small smile. “I’m the caretaker and I was informed by your mother about you moving in here. This is a small town so I know every person, house, and car around. And your car looks really new” Tony’s shoulder relaxed and loosens his grip on the wheels.

“Oh…It’s alright… Umm… could you help me? I can’t seem to find my own house” He gave her a sheepish grin.

“Sure! I can take you there. I mean, ride with you there If you don’t mind”

“That would be really great!”

She reached out her hand towards him. “My name’s May Parker by the way”

Tony took her hand and gave her a light shake. “Nice to meet you! I’m well Tony as you’ve heard and” He points at Rhodey. “The guy sleeping is James Rhodes but you can call him Rhodey” He smiles and gestures towards the back. “Hop in so you could meet the little guy back there. I’m pretty sure his lonely for being in the back for long hours. His name’s Peter, my son.”

“It’ll be my pleasure” She smiles and proceeds to get in the back seat.

**********

“You’re a darling boy, ain’t ya?”

May rubbed her nose with Peter’s cute one. He giggled and waved his arms like a cute madman. Tony and Rhodey had been unpacking while May looked out for Peter. They only brought the necessary stuff and bought some baby stuff on the way. Luckily the house was fully furnished although it’s pretty outdated but there were baby furnishing which was good. They got everything in after half an hour.

Tony groaned and flopped down on an empty sofa. Rhodey lifted Tony’s head so he could sit down and let down his head on his lap. He wiped Tony’s sweat with a clean face towel.

“Don’t just let your sweat dry out like that… jeezus” Rhodey grumbled at him.

“You guys are a cute couple”

“What? Cute?” Tony looked at her confused and Rhodey just stared and blinked at her. “Couple?”

“You guys are very cute together” May smiled at them. “It’s very refreshing to see you guys so sweet towards each other”

“Mrs. Parker… I think you’ve gotten it wrong. Me and Tony aren’t a couple. We’re just really close best friends“

May blushed in embarrassment. “Oh! I’m sorry! You guys just look awfully close… and with the situation it’s… umm… hard to not see it that way”

“Its fine, Mrs. Parker. A lot of people had mistaken us all the time. This is just the first time we got called as a ‘cute’ couple” Tony chuckled.

“You guys certainly look cute with each other regardless” May chuckled. “And it’s May not Mrs. Parker”

“So, May, Do you want some donuts? We bought them on the way he-“ Rhodey got cut off by the door bell.

“I’ll get it” Tony stood up and went straight to the door.

He opened to see a blonde woman who looks like she was in her late 30’s and a blonde scrawny kid, probably around 7 in Tony’s eyes. She was holding a casserole with her.

“Hi! You must be our new neighbor. I’m Sarah Rogers and this is my son, Steve” She pats the kids shoulder with her free hand. “We live right next door” She points at her right which shows a simple home with a beautiful front lawn.

“I’m Tony… Stark” He was unsure if she would react how anyone who knew stark was would while he stretched out his hand but all she did was give him a bright smile and shook his hand.

She looks down at her son. “Stevie say hi to the nice man”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Stark” Steve gave him the same bright smile Sarah did.

“This is for you.” Sarah hands over the casserole to Tony which smelled heavenly. “We knew you were coming here. Your caretaker, May, told us about it yesterday”

“Thank you!” Tony couldn’t wait to dig in to it. “Would you like to come in? May is in here too” Tony of course remembers how to be a polite human being.

“We’d love too”

Tony led them to living room where Peter was now in Rhodey’s arms drinking a bottle of milk and May stuffing a donut into her mouth. Tony introduced them and asked May if she could tell him where the plates and cutleries where at. They head to the kitchen and got everything they needed and headed back to the living room.

“Do you want some?” Rhodey offered donuts to Steve. He was staring at the box of Donuts for quite some time.

“I can’t” Steve lowered his head and looked at the ground. Sarah watched his son in pity.

“Maybe… just for Today is fine” Sarah smiled at his son as he eyes shined.

“Can I call Bucky too?”

“And that’s where you’ve crossed it mister” Sarah chuckled at her son. “It’s up to Mr. Rhodes if he would allow it”

“Can I Sir?”

“Rhodey is fine and sure you can call your friend for some donuts”

Steve then gave a triumphant “YES!” and ran out the door.

“Stevie! Don’t run” Sarah worriedly called out to her son. She didn’t want her son to be wheezing and coughing afterwards and probably result to another asthma attack.

“YES MA!”

May and Tony settled the plates and offered Sarah a plate. They all took some except for Rhodey who was still holding Peter. Tony fed Rhodey since it was a bit unfair that he was the only one eating the delicious goodness.

“You guys look sweet!” Sarah cooed at them.

Rhodey almost chocked at his food before swallowing which made Tony laugh.

“We’re not actually together, Mrs. Rogers” Tony smiled at her and tried to not laugh anymore at Rhodey’s predicament. “We’re just really close friends. Rhodey’s kinda like a big brother to me”

Sarah blushed like May did. May chuckled at her before getting another bite of her donut. “Don’t worry I thought the same thing half an hour ago”

Steve ran back inside with another kid beside him. The kid was taller than Steve and looked around 10 or 11. He was wheezing for awhile before using his inhaler and was able to breathe semi-normal. Sarah looked worried for a short while before letting out a sigh in relief.

“This is James Barnes! But we call him bucky… And that’s Mr. Tony Stark and Mr. James Rhodes and the baby is Peter” Steve introduced them all before looking at Tony in excitement “Can we eat some Donuts?”

Tony chuckled at them. “Sure! Eat as many as you want”

“Thank you Mr. Stark!” They reached out and took a donut. Steve took one while Bucky took two. He swallowed one whole and was slowly eating the other one. Steve looked like he never ate a donut before.

“How old are you guys?” Rhodey asked them.

“I’m 12” Bucky replied before stuffing the rest of the donut in his mouth.

“I’ll be 11 in a few months and I’ll be in middle school when the school year starts” Steve grinned and took another donut.

Tony assumptions weren’t close to Steve’s age. He kept the thought to himself.

“I don’t remember much about middle school but I think High school is the worst so you guys are still good” Rhodey chuckled.

“I agree high school wasn’t the best place especially with teens and their raging hormones” May shook her head. “But there were great times with those bad times”

“True. Most of my good memories where in those years” Sarah smiled as she reminisce her High school life. Tony couldn’t relate to anything they’ve said but smiled anyways.

They continued making small talks and sometimes the kids would join in which made Tony relax a bit since he wasn’t the youngest one in the conversation. They were able to know a lot of things like how Sarah was a nurse and a widow; and that her husband died in a car crash. And May was a government worker and is only just a part time caretaker. Sarah and May learned about Tony’s age which shocked them a lot. They knew he was a young dad but not this young dad. They knew he graduated college early and was impressed. They also knew he was unemployed which led Sarah and May telling him that they could ask around their work if there were any vacancies Tony could have. He appreciated the help a lot. They also knew about Rhodey being in the military and will probably leave in a few months.

“Don’t worry Rhodey. We’ll keep an eye on your little brother” May smiled at him seeing Rhodey looking a little worried when he told them about his career.

“I’m also right next door” Sarah smiled at Tony. “You can ask us for help anytime”

“Thank you” Tony smiled back at them. This place was better than he thought it would be.

Bonus Notes:

Tony ends up fixing a lot of Sarah and May’s Mechanical problems which they really appreciated especially since he somehow improved their appliances and didn’t need any replacements ever since.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not much happening here just character introductions and stuff... If you guys have any questions I'll gladly answer as a chapter update if I can or applicable :3
> 
> You can send me an ask here! http://hazein.tumblr.com/ask


	7. Tour Around Town

The first night in their home was a good night. Thankfully Sarah was a very generous neighbor and doesn’t like the idea of them sleeping with an empty stomach even Peter was given an Oatmeal Cereal which he seemed to really love if his empty bowl was any indication. Tony was even thinking about learning a thing or two of Sarah’s mad kitchen skills and Rhodey was really impressed. He didn’t think anyone could match up to his mother’s cooking.

The whole house was already complete with everything. It was well maintained by May so it was a fully functioning home. There were 3 bedrooms, a study room, a lovely kitchen, a cozy living room, a small laundry room, and even a laboratory. The laboratory was located in the basement. Although it wasn’t a fully functioning laboratory as Tony hoped it would be and the machinery were a bit outdated but he knows he could make it work. He’d love to tinker in here from time to time. Rhodey’s favorite part of the house was the backyard. It was spacey and had a grill and a pool. He thought about filling it up by morning and relaxing on a floating recliner while holding freshly squeezed lemon juice or just relaxing in general but Tony had other ideas.

“C’mon, Honeybear! I want to look around this the first time to be in a neighborhood like this!”

“But Poooool! It looks so relaxing!” Rhodey slumped back at the Sofa as he exclaimed.

Tony was already dressed with a red aloha buttoned up shirt tucked in jeans that were slightly rolled up on the bottom and rectangle rimless sunglasses with a orange hue. He already had set up light weight stroller with a retractable hood which was dark blue and patterned with Star patterns all around. Peter was already strapped snug in it and was wearing a cute red jumpsuit and a black beanie with 6 stripes following the rainbow. He was adorably clapping his hands and making baby noises.

“See! Even Peter wants to go out! C’mon! I can also look for jobs while we look around”

Rhodey looks at Peter and the little guys started a somewhat gibberish baby chant. He groaned and stood up and went straight up stairs. Tony made a little happy dance when he was out of sight.

It took only a few minutes for Rhodey to get his wallet. Tony took the responsibility to push Peter’s stroller around and Rhodey followed beside them. They walked following the side walk and passed by the Rodger’s residence where Steve was looking out of the window looking sullen. Tony waved at him catching Steve’s attention. He got out of the house and greeted them.

“Good morning Rhodey! Mr. Stark!” Steve lightly jogged towards them. He peered at Peter and gave him a bright smile. “Hiya Petey!”

Peter giggled and made grabby hands at Steve. He then took one of Peter’s hands and shook it gently. Peter then made gibberish noises.

“Are ya going to check out the towns?” Steve looked two young adults without losing the friendly smile on his face.

“Yeah” Tony gave him a friendly smile. “It’s a nice day out and I wanted to stretch my legs unlike a certain person I know”

Rhodey elbowed Tony and gave him a stink eye which made him groan a bit. The older one faked cough before softening his face. “Aren’t you going to play with your friends? Its summer isn’t it?”

“Yeah but Bucky has a summer job… He’s mowing at Asgard right now” Steve’s smile faltered.

“Don’t you have any other friends?” Tony’s smile faltered too.

“I’m…. not really… the most popular guy in school…”

Tony and Rhodey looked at each other feeling sad for the kid. And with just that one look they’ve decided.

“How about you give us a tour kid?” Rhodey laid a hand on Steve’s shoulder making him look up at the older guy.

“We’re not really sure where we’re going so how about helping us?” Tony gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m sure Sarah won’t mind. We’ll just be back before sundown”

Steve’s eyes brightened. “Sure! Let me just lock up first!”

He ran and almost tripped halfway to the door which made Tony and Rhodey nervously chuckle watching him. And he came back as fast as he went.

Composing himself he cleared his throat before opening his mouth. “Good morning Sirs! Welcome to your personal Marvel Town Tour! We start our tour in the good ol’ Shield neighborhood…”

**********

“…And this is our most famous diner! Happy Diner! Where the best food and milkshakes are served! Me and buck usually hang out here and we usually order a grilled cheese sandwich. And it’s really REALLY good”

“Well, how bout we test that declaration of yours? Hm? I don’t know about you guys but I’m really hungry… We’ve been walking for 2 hours straight” Tony rubbed his stomach as he grumbled.

“Pretty hungry too” Rhodey ruffled Steve’s hair. “Let’s have a break from the tour kid. Don’t worry it’s our treat”

“Sounds good”

They walked towards the Diner. Tony noticed the help wanted sign at the window. _Maybe._ He contemplated a bit before pushing it back for later. Rhodey opened the door and let Tony and Steve walk in first. The Diner had a 80s feel in it with neon colors all over, a juke box, classic diner waitresses  & waiters, and posters & memorabilia from the 80s are hanged on the wall at every side. The Diner was packed but luckily the table by the window right beside the juke box was vacant. Tony and Steve went straight to the table while Rhodey asked for one of the waiters to bring them baby high chair for Peter and 3 menus for them. Rhodey and Steve sat on one side and Tony sat on the other while Peter sat on the high chair. Tony packed a small bottle of baby food for these situations although Peter didn’t look hungry at all. He was too mesmerized the lights and design of the diner.

A waitress with ginger hair and freckles on her face came up to the table. Her smile widen at the baby looking at her curious and mesmerized at everything.

“Hi! Welcome to Happy Diner, where everybody leaves with a smile!” She chirped. “I see you guys are new in town! Who are your friends Stevie?”

“Oh! Ms. Potts these are Mr. James Rhodes” He points at Rhodey.

“Rhodey” He shakes her hand and gives her a kind smile.

“And Mr. Tony Stark”

“Anthony Stark but I prefer being called Tony” He shakes her hand too. “And this is my little guy, Peter”

She took Peter’s hand and gently shook it. “Nice to meet you Pete” He giggles and shakes his arm like his shaking her hand. She then let goes of his small hand and stood straight.

“I’m Virginia Potts but everyone calls me Pepper. And I am your waitress for today so… What’ll it be boys?” She takes her pad and pen from the pockets in her apron and looks at steve. “Will it be your usual Steve?”

“Nah” Steve shook his hand. “Feelin’ like getting a turkey sandwich”

“Yah having one of those days?” She says as she scribbles down his order. Stevie just shrugs and smiles. “How about you guys?”

“Bacon and Swiss Chicken Sandwich sound good right now” Tony closes the menu and puts it down as he smiles at the waitress.

“I’m going for the All American Burger” Rhodey just shrugs at Tony’s raised eyebrow. “I’m feelin Patriotic and hungry right now”

“Drinks?”

“For this hot and sweaty day seems like a Pepsi is the best medicine for it”

“I second that motion” Rhodey places his menu on top of Tony’s.

“I’ll have the same too” Steve gave Rhodey his menu so he could stack it together for Pepper.

Pepper repeated their order letting them confirm everything before taking their menus and heading towards the counter.

Tony spots the two kids who were sitting across them. They were the kids he spotted yesterday. Doesn’t seems like their close but they’ve been spending a lot of time together. The blonde one kept on talking and bringing smile in his face. The one with black hair looks like he was tolerating him.

“Hey Steve”

“hm?”

“Who are those kids sitting across us?” Steve looks at where Tony was staring.

“Oh! That’s Thor and Loki. The Blonde one is Thor”

“Like the mythology?” Steve just looks up at him in confusion. “Nevermind… They don’t seem like they’re close but I’ve noticed them spending time with each other since yesterday”

“That’s because they’re brothers. Loki’s adopted that’s why they don’t look alike. Their Dad’s the mayor so everybody knows who they are. Mayor Odin Borson is a really good hearted man. Loki’s parents where in the politics too but they died when he was just a baby. He took him in when the accident happened.”

“That sounds awful… I can see why he became the mayor of the town.”

He looked away at the two boys and notice a girl with red hair was staring intently at him. He stared back and she didn’t stop staring. Her face was expressionless but she looked like a cute kid if she smiled. It was almost a minute and they haven’t stopped staring at each other. Tony scrunched his forehead in confusion at why the kid was staring.

“Uhh… Who’s the weird girl with red hair?” Steve’s eyes looked like his eyes popped out of his skull. He immediately shuffled to look at where and as he spotted he immediately sat back down.

“T-that’s Natalia Romanova! She’s the daughter of a Russian gang leader!!!”

Now Tony and Rhodey’s eyes where the ones popping out of their skulls. Tony looks back at where he saw the kid but she was gone. _Creepy._ Steve kept talking more about the scary kid about how she doesn’t talk to anybody and when she does the other kid start crying or screaming. There was even a rumor that anybody looking at her straight in the eye would get sick for a week which was ridiculous. Rhodey laughed at the statement but Tony was highly horrified by the rumor.

Tony was still processing everything when a toy arrow swooped in and stuck on his forehead. He only blinked in shock by the situation and Peter and Rhodey were giggling at the scene. Steve was equally in shock but covered his mouth to stop himself from rudely laughing at him.

A slightly taller ginger haired man (everybody is tall for Tony) walks over with a sheepish grin and a lean blonde kid with a toy boy in his hands walks over.

“Sorry bout’ that… my brother is kind of a brat but he doesn’t do it on purpose”

“Hey you told me to hit- OW! Hey!” The kid rubbed at his arm where his brother pinched him.

Tony just chuckles and takes the toy arrow from his forehead and hands it over to him. “s’all right. Kids are always active and loud mini people and he seems like to have a good arm. Probably be going to the Olympics with that arm” The kid takes the arrow from Tony with a smile and sticks a tongue out at his brother.

“I’m Clint Barton and everybody calls me Hawkeye” Clint loudly declares with a smile showing he lost one of his teeth.

“Nobody calls you that Twerp” The older brother rolled his eyes before giving Tony a flirty smile. “I’m Barney and everybody calls me the hot guy next door”

“Nobody calls you that either moron”

“Shut up”

Tony laughed. “Anthony. Anthony Stark and this little guy is Peter, my kid” Barney’s eyes widened a bit before maintaining his flirty face at Tony. Clint’s face was wide with shock.

“You had Se-!“ Barney covered the kid’s mouth before he could say anything inappropriate.

Tony chuckled before continuing. “This is-“

“James Rhodes. Call me Rhodey or maybe your worst nightmare” Rhodey grips his hand firmly making Barney wince and Clint to chuckle.

“Rhodey!” Tony slaps at Rhodey’s arm and giving Barney a sheepish grin. “Sorry… My best friends really overprotective of me”

“No worries! I’ll just have to flirt with you when he isn’t here” Barney winks at Tony and making him blush.

Rhodey clears his throat and eyes the guy.

“Oh! And this is-“

“Steve. Yeah. I think he is this Twerp’s classmate”

Clint just nods and doesn’t look at Steve. Steve on the other hand doesn’t say anything at all and just taps his finger at the table continuously and looks out of the window. There was a long awkward pause but luckily Pepper came up with the food.

“Stop harassing my customer Barton!”

“I’m not!”

“Yes you were!” Clint rolled his eyes at his older brother.

“Go sit down boys. There’s an open table there. I’ll clean it up when I’m done here”

“But-“

Pepper gives Barney a look which made him scramble towards the empty table with his brother. Tony stares at her in awe.

“Sorry bout’ the fuss..” Pepper puts the plates down one by one. “Barney’s playboy and a flirt but he’s a good guy”

Rhodey just grumbled and starts taking big bits on his burger.

“It’s no problem… He wasn’t really doing much harm. Thank you” Tony smiles at her as she places his order in front of him.

“No problem. A cute guy like you always need a knight in shining armor” She winks at him and gives another rush of blood through his cheeks. “Call me if ya need anything” She walks away and goes towards Barton’s table.

“My gawd Tones tone it down a little will ya? You’re making the overprotective brother situation even harder.”

“I’m not even doing anything!” Tony blushed even harder.

Steve just stares at them in shock with everything and suddenly blurts out. “Teach me”

Rhodey just laughs at Steve while Tony buried his face in his hands in embarrassment.


	8. The job

Thanks to Steve’s tour, they know a lot of stuff about the town. Although the town may be smaller than he used to there were still a lot of people around. It was a good amount that there weren’t space for someone new except for the Diner. It was the only job in town that had a vacant slot. It took a whole day for Tony to start going on a job hunt. He prepared every file he needed and made his resume. He visited a few other places first, maybe he had any luck in getting in but it was either they were full or he was too much/less qualified for the job.

He was now in front of the Diner griping his files closer to his chest. This was probably the only chance he’d have to stay in this town. If this job won’t workout, they’d have to go back to the mansion and he’d have to take his dad’s place. He walked in still unsure but determined none the less. He was greeted with a friendly ginger head.

“Oh my! Mr. Stark, You look handsomely sharp today?”

“Thank you” Tony smiled back with a hint of red in his cheeks. “Are you guys still looking for someone? Cuz I’d like to apply”

“Dang… We just got someone a few days ago… We just forgot to take that sign off”

Well, so much for Tony’s last resort.

“Oh… okay” Tony’s face looked sullen but desperately tried to give pep a small smile. “Thanks”

Tony was about to turn around and was griping the door handle when-

“MOTHERFUCK-“

Tony widened his eyes. Pepper immediately let goes of the menus in her hand and raced to the door that leads to the kitchen. He doesn’t need to go but somehow he felt the need to follow. When he got to the kitchen, He saw a slightly buff/chubby man grumbling at the disassembled griller in front of him.

Pepper let out a loud sigh “Jeezus Happy! I thought something bad happened to you!”

“Something bad did happen… This god damn griller doesn’t work and I’ve been trying to fix this since this morning!” The man called happy cursed and grumbled a lot more and started hitting the griller with his foot. Tony winced, feeling pity for the man and for the poor machinery.

“I can fix that”

The Pepper and Happy’s head wiped to see Tony by the door. Tony felt a little bit conscious by their stares.

“Who are you?” Happy forehead scrunched glaring a bit at the intruder in his kitchen.

“I-I’m Anthony Stark. A lot of people call me tony“He squeaked a bit feeling intimidated by him.

“He’s the new guy I was talking about the other. He came here today because he thought that we still had a job vacancy” Pepper explained Tony’s predicament a bit. “I don’t know why he followed me in here but you were cursing so loud that even people outside the diner could hear. He’s probably just assumed the same thing as I did” Pepper crossed her arm and sizing up the man who was taller than her and scarier than her.

Happy stared at tony and looked at him from head to toe.

“You look like you’ve had people do stuff for you” He raised a brow at the smaller man.

“I-I fixed a toaster at the age of 5” Tony straightened himself and talked back. “I think I can manage to fix your griller”

Happy thought for a moment. Tony’s hands were sweating that he had to place him in his back so that they couldn’t see how nervous he was. Happy let out a grunt and wiped his greasy hands with his apron.

“If you can fix my griller” He gave him a stern look. “I’ll hire you part time as our maintenance”

Tony’s face lit up. “I won’t make you regret this moment”

Happy just grumbled and walked out towards another door which looked like the manager’s office.

**********

“Hey”

Tony was busy screwing up the griller together that he didn’t notice that Pepper was standing beside him carrying a glass in one hand and a pitcher of freshly squeezed lemon juice in another.

“You’ve been working here for about an hour and a half. I thought maybe you want some refreshments” She poured a glassful of the juice and handed it to him.

He smiled at her and wiped his greasy hands on white sleeveless shirt. He had to take off his long sleeve button up shirt to avoid stains sticking on an expensive shirt.

“Thank you” He got the glass from her delicate hands. He took a long sip. “Wow this is really good! How do you make this stuff like this?”

“It’s a Hogan’s family recipe. Happy may look tough but he is a real softie and has a knack for being chef” Pepper placed the pitcher in an empty counter and crouched down. “This may not be a five star restaurant not even one star but Happy’s food are amazing and everybody in town loves it”

“How long have you been working here?”

“About two years but mostly just in the summer” She shrugged. “I’m saving up for college. I’ll be graduating next year”

Tony just nodded and took another sip. He taped his glass a bit before opening his mouth.

“Happy was right though”

“hm?”

“My whole life I had everything given to me. Everything made for me” Tony gave out a sigh. “It sounds like a good life but I didn’t want it to be like that. There are a couple of stuff I didn’t get to experience that I wish I had. I can’t seem to relate to people around me. I didn’t get into high school. I didn’t need to save money for college. I couldn’t even relate to Rhodey at times”

“So this is the first job you’ve ever applied for?”

“Well, I tried to apply to some establishments in town earlier today and it was the first time I had the need to try out for something”

“There is a first for everything, pretty boy. And from how I see it. You’re doing pretty good”

“Thanks” Tony smiled at her. “I just need to do some few tweaks and I’m done”

“I guess I’ll leave you to it then”

She stood up and patted her skirt and went out to serve and do her job.

**********

“huh… It’s pretty good”

“It’s more than good” Pepper whistled.

“Yeah…” He fiddled with his fingers. “I thought it would be more convenient having the fryer attached to it. It needs little electricity and gives off enough power to heat up both the griller and fryer”

“It looks new better than new” Happy just gaped at his griller which was passed on from his father and his father got it from his father.

“I cleaned it up a bit after” Tony shrugged a bit.

“You’re hired” Happy blurted out while he poking at his new looking griller.

Tony bit his lip to stop himself from squealing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'll be focusing on the other characters for the next few chapters xP

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